East London’s Bodgers department store to shut down after 125 years

A department store that has been trading in the same east London suburb for 125 years is closing down, with the 70 staff members in consultation about their future. Bodgers in Ilford, one of the oldest established department stores in the London Borough of Redbridge, is expected to shutter its doors for good in February. Its owner, Morleys Stores Ltd, has blamed a loss of customers to nearby Westfield Stratford City shopping centre combined with a challenging trading environment as reasons for deciding to close the store down.